Fan characterization and control system

ABSTRACT

A fan characterization and control system includes a chassis housing a plurality of components and a fan system. A controller system is coupled to the components and the fan system and configured to detect fan devices in the fan system that are connected to the controller system via respective fan connectors. The controller system determines fan performance categories of each of the fan devices based on signals communicated by each of the fan devices through at least one pin on the respective fan connectors. The controller system accesses a fan performance database that stores different fan performance categories and respective fan performance characteristics for each of the different fan performance categories. The controller system uses fan performance information that is associated in the fan performance database with each of the fan performance categories determined for the fan devices to configure the components and the fan system for operation.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a Continuation application to U.S. Utility application Ser. No.15/010,885 filed Jan. 29, 2016, entitled “FAN CHARACTERIZATION ANDCONTROL SYSTEM,” the disclosure of which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates generally to information handlingsystems, and more particularly to a system for characterizing andcontrolling fans in an information handling system.

As the value and use of information continues to increase, individualsand businesses seek additional ways to process and store information.One option available to users is information handling systems. Aninformation handling system generally processes, compiles, stores,and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or otherpurposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of theinformation. Because technology and information handling needs andrequirements vary between different users or applications, informationhandling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled,how the information is handled, how much information is processed,stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the informationmay be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in informationhandling systems allow for information handling systems to be general orconfigured for a specific user or specific use such as financialtransaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage,or global communications. In addition, information handling systems mayinclude a variety of hardware and software components that may beconfigured to process, store, and communicate information and mayinclude one or more computer systems, data storage systems, andnetworking systems.

Information handling systems such as, for example, servers, sometimesinclude a server chassis that houses the components of the server thatmay include computing components, cooling components, power components,and/or a variety of other components known in the art. In many cases,the server chassis may be configured to utilize fans and fan systemsfrom different vendors for continuity of supply, to provide differentcooling capabilities that enable varying levels of performance, and/orto enable other functionality of the server. In order to allow theutilization of different fans and fan systems, a number of fan-specificdependencies must be compensated for that require knowledge ofcharacteristics of the fans and fan systems. Conventionally, such fancharacteristics are defined in firmware lookup tables, which requireeither knowledge of each fan or fan system that may be utilized in theserver chassis, either included in the server as manufactured, orupdated via firmware updates provided to the server. However, it isimpossible to account for future fans or fan systems during manufactureof the server, and it has been found that many users are hesitant toupdate firmware once the server has been deployed and is operatingcorrectly due to the possibility of introducing new-firmware-relatedperformance issues that can cause server downtime. One solution to thisissue is to provide “smart fan” systems that store their fancharacteristics and provide those fan characteristics to the system toallow the system to account for different fans. However, such solutionsadd cost and complexity to the system, and thus are not viable in manyinstances.

Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an improved fancharacterization and control system.

SUMMARY

According to one embodiment, an Information Handling System (IHS)includes a non-transitory memory system storing a plurality of differentfan performance categories and respective fan performancecharacteristics for each of the plurality of different fan performancecategories; and a processing system that is coupled to thenon-transitory memory system and that is configured to executeinstructions from the non-transitory memory system to provide a systemcontrol engine that is configured to: detect a plurality of fan devicesthat are connected to the processing system via respective fanconnectors; determine fan performance categories of each of theplurality of fan devices based on signals communicated by each of theplurality of fan devices through at least one pin on the respective fanconnectors; and use fan performance information that is associated inthe fan performance database with each of the fan performance categoriesdetermined for the plurality of fan devices to configure a plurality ofcomponents and the plurality of fan devices for operation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of an informationhandling system.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a fancharacterization and control system.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of the fancharacterization and control system of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a fanperformance database used in the fan characterization and control systemof FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a fan deviceused in the fan characterization and control system of FIGS. 2 and 3.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of a method forcharacterizing and controlling a fan system.

FIG. 7 is a graph illustrating an embodiment of a fan performance graph.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

For purposes of this disclosure, an information handling system mayinclude any instrumentality or aggregate of instrumentalities operableto compute, calculate, determine, classify, process, transmit, receive,retrieve, originate, switch, store, display, communicate, manifest,detect, record, reproduce, handle, or utilize any form of information,intelligence, or data for business, scientific, control, or otherpurposes. For example, an information handling system may be a personalcomputer (e.g., desktop or laptop), tablet computer, mobile device(e.g., personal digital assistant (PDA) or smart phone), server (e.g.,blade server or rack server), a network storage device, or any othersuitable device and may vary in size, shape, performance, functionality,and price. The information handling system may include random accessmemory (RAM), one or more processing resources such as a centralprocessing unit (CPU) or hardware or software control logic, ROM, and/orother types of nonvolatile memory. Additional components of theinformation handling system may include one or more disk drives, one ormore network ports for communicating with external devices as well asvarious input and output (I/O) devices, such as a keyboard, a mouse,touchscreen and/or a video display. The information handling system mayalso include one or more buses operable to transmit communicationsbetween the various hardware components.

In one embodiment, IHS 100, FIG. 1, includes a processor 102, which isconnected to a bus 104. Bus 104 serves as a connection between processor102 and other components of IHS 100. An input device 106 is coupled toprocessor 102 to provide input to processor 102. Examples of inputdevices may include keyboards, touchscreens, pointing devices such asmouses, trackballs, and trackpads, and/or a variety of other inputdevices known in the art. Programs and data are stored on a mass storagedevice 108, which is coupled to processor 102. Examples of mass storagedevices may include hard discs, optical disks, magneto-optical discs,solid-state storage devices, and/or a variety other mass storage devicesknown in the art. IHS 100 further includes a display 110, which iscoupled to processor 102 by a video controller 112. A system memory 114is coupled to processor 102 to provide the processor with fast storageto facilitate execution of computer programs by processor 102. Examplesof system memory may include random access memory (RAM) devices such asdynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), solid state memorydevices, and/or a variety of other memory devices known in the art. Inan embodiment, a chassis 116 houses some or all of the components of IHS100. It should be understood that other buses and intermediate circuitscan be deployed between the components described above and processor 102to facilitate interconnection between the components and the processor102.

Referring now to FIG. 2, an embodiment of a fan characterization andcontrol system 200 is illustrated. In an embodiment, the fancharacterization and control system 200 may be provided in the IHS 100discussed above with reference to FIG. 1, and/or may include some of allof the components of the IHS. One of skill in the art in possession ofthe present disclosure will recognize that, in the specific embodimentsdescribed herein, the fan characterization and control system 200 isprovided in a server. However, in other embodiments, the fancharacterization and control system 200 may be provided in a storagesystem, a networking system (e.g., a switch, router, access point,etc.), a desktop computing system, a laptop/notebook computing system,and/or any other computing system known in the art that may utilize fandevices as discussed below. The fan characterization and control system200 includes a chassis 202 that, in the illustrated embodiment, housescomponents of a server, only some of which are illustrated in FIG. 2.For example, the chassis 202 of FIG. 2 includes a plurality of walls(side walls 202 a and 202 b are illustrated, but one of skill in the artin possession of the present disclosure will recognize that a top wall,bottom wall, front wall, and/or rear wall may be provided on the chassis202 as well) that define a chassis enclosure 204 in which the componentsof the server are located. The chassis 202 may further define a chassisairflow entrance 206 and a chassis airflow exit 208 that allow air tomove through the chassis enclosure 204. While a chassis airflow entrance206 and a chassis airflow exit 208 are illustrated as provided through afront and rear of the chassis 202, airflow entrances defined by thechassis 202 on any portion of the chassis 202 will fall within the scopeof the present disclosure.

In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2, a plurality of storagecomponent slots 210 are defined in the chassis enclosure 204 adjacent abackplane 212 that includes respective storage drive componentconnectors 212 a located adjacent each of the plurality of storage drivecomponent slots 210. As would be understood by one of skill in the artin possession of the present disclosure, storage drives may bepositioned and/or mounted in the storage drive component slots 210 andmated with the storage device component connectors 212 a to couple thestorage drive components to the backplane 212. A plurality of othersystem components are located in the chassis enclosure 204 and coupledto the backplane 212. For example, the plurality of system componentsmay include a processing component 214 a (e.g., one or more centralprocessing units (CPUs), one or more graphics processing units (GPUs),etc.), a memory component 214 b (e.g., one or more memory devices), anetwork controller component 214 c (e.g., one or more network interfacecontrollers (NICs)), one or more card components 214 d (e.g., one ormore Peripheral Component Interconnect express (PCIe) cards), a powercomponent 214 e (e.g., a Power Supply Unit (PSU)), and/or any othercomputing components known in the art.

A fan system 216 is provided in the chassis enclosure 204 that, in theillustrated embodiment, includes a plurality of fan devices that arepositioned throughout the chassis enclosure 204. For example, a fandevice 216 a is located adjacent the processing component 214 a andconfigured to produce an airflow over that processing component 214 a, aplurality of fan devices 216 b and 216 c are located adjacent the memorycomponent 214 b and configured to produce an airflow over that memorycomponent 214 b, a plurality of fan devices 216 d and 216 e are locatedadjacent the card component 214 d and configured to produce an airflowover that card component 214 d, and a fan device 216 f is located in thepower component 214 e and configured to produce an airflow through thatpower component 214 e. As discussed above, in many embodiments, theserver within which the fan characterization and control system 200 isprovided may support a variety of different fan devices 216 a-f that maybe provided from a variety of different vendors and, as such, may havedifferent fan performance characteristics such as power consumption, fanfailure thresholds, airflow delivery capabilities, ambient temperaturesupport limits, and/or other fan performance characteristics known inthe art. For example, in experimental embodiments, a POWEREDGE® M1000eBlade Enclosure from DELL® Inc., of Round Rock, Tex., United States wasprovided with a fan characterization and control system according to theteachings of the present disclosure (e.g., housing server blades thateach include some or all of the components illustrated in FIG. 2), andwas capable of supporting different generations of fan devices availablefrom NIDEC® Corporation, NMB® Technologies, and other fan vendors knownin the art. In such experimental embodiments, it was found that forsimilar control signals (e.g., Pulse Width Modulation (PWN) controlsignals), fans from different fan vendors, as well as differentgeneration fans from the same fan vendors, operated at substantiallydifferent speeds.

Referring now to FIG. 3, an embodiment of a fan characterization andcontrol system 300 is illustrated that may be the fan characterizationand control system 200 discussed above with reference to FIG. 2. Assuch, the fan characterization and control system 300 may be provided inthe IHS 100 discussed above and/or may include some or all of thecomponents of the IHS 100. The fan characterization and control system300 includes a chassis 302 that houses the components of the fancharacterization and control system 300, only some of which areillustrated in FIG. 3. For example, the chassis 302 may house aprocessing system (not illustrated, but which may include the processor102 discussed above with reference to FIG. 1, and/or the processingcomponent 214 a discussed above with reference to FIG. 2) and a memorysystem (not illustrated, but which may include the system memory 114discussed above with reference to FIG. 1, and/or the memory component214 b discussed above with reference to FIG. 2) that includesinstructions that, when executed by the processing system, causes theprocessing system to provide a system control engine 304 that isconfigured to perform the functions of the system control engines andfan characterization and control systems discussed below. In a specificembodiment, the system control engine 304 may be provided by a BaseboardManagement Controller (BMC), although other subsystems may be utilizedto provide the system control engine 304 while remaining within thescope of the present disclosure.

The chassis 302 also houses one or more system components 306 (e.g., thecomponents 214 a-214 e discussed above with reference to FIG. 2) thatare coupled to the system control engine 304 (e.g., via couplingsbetween each of the system components and the processing system), a fansystem 310 (e.g., provided by the fan devices 216 a-216 f discussedabove with reference to FIG. 2) that is coupled to the system controlengine 304 (e.g., via one or more couplings between the fan devices andthe processing system that may include a plurality of connectors 310 athat may connect to respective connectors on respective fan devices,discussed in further detail below), and a power system (e.g., the powercomponent 214 e discussed above with reference to FIG. 2) that iscoupled to the system control engine 304 (e.g., via a coupling betweenthe power system and the processing system. The chassis 302 may alsohouse a storage system (e.g., the storage device 108 discussed abovewith reference to FIG. 1) that includes a fan performance database 312that, as discussed in further detail below, may include one or morefirst predefined fan performance lookup tables that include fanperformance characteristics and fan control information for known fandevices from particular fan vendors, as well as one or more secondpredefined fan performance lookup tables that include fan controlinformation for unknown fan devices (e.g., fan devices for whichinformation is not included in the first predefined lookup table or forwhich performance characteristic and control information is otherwisenot available), as well as the ability to store fan performancecharacteristics for unknown fan devices as discussed in further detailbelow. In a specific embodiment, the fan performance database 312 may beprovided in and/or accessible to a BMC that provides the system controlengine 304. As would be understood by one of skill in the art, fanvendors may produce the first predefined fan control lookup table(s)that include fan performance characteristics and fan control informationfor their fan devices, and those first predefined fan control lookuptables may be used to optimize the operation of those fan devices. Thus,the first predefined fan control lookup table will not be discussed indetail below other than with regard to their use in operating known fandevices that are provided in the fan characterization and controlsystems described herein. However, as discussed below, the secondpredefined fan control lookup table may be created with fan performancecharacteristics and/or fan control information for unknown fan devices,and used to operate unknown fan devices.

Referring now to FIG. 4, an embodiment of a fan performance database 400is illustrated that may be the fan performance database 312 discussedabove with reference to FIG. 3. FIG. 4 illustrates an example of asecond predefined fan control lookup table 402 that may include eitheror both of fan control information and fan performance characteristicsfor unknown fan devices. In the illustrated embodiment, the secondpredefined lookup table 402 includes a fan performance category column404, a performance characteristics column 406, and a control informationcolumn 408, with each row 410 a, 410 b, and up to 410 j of the secondpredefined lookup table 402 capable of associating a respective discretefan performance category in the fan performance category column 404 withrespective discrete performance characteristics in the performancecharacteristics column 406, and respective discrete control informationin the control information column 408.

In one embodiment, fan performance categories may be defined by a fancharacterization and control system provider and associated with eitheror both of fan performance characteristics and fan control information.For example, a first category of fan performance (e.g., “CATEGORY 1”)may be defined in row 410 a of the second predefined fan control lookuptable 402 (i.e., in the fan performance category column 404), andassociated with fan control information (i.e., in the controlinformation column 408) such as PWM control signals that are configuredto drive fan devices that fall in the defined first category of fanperformance to produce a variety of different predefined airflows,levels of cooling, cooling capabilities, and/or other fancharacteristics known in the art. Similarly, a second category of fanperformance (e.g., “CATEGORY 2”) may be defined in row 410 b of thesecond predefined fan control lookup table 402 (i.e., in the fanperformance category column 404), and associated with fan controlinformation (i.e., in the control information column 408) such as PWMcontrol signals that are configured to drive fan devices that fall inthe defined second category of fan performance to produce a variety ofpredefined airflows, levels of cooling, cooling capabilities, and/orother fan characteristics known in the art. One of skill in the art inpossession of the present disclosure will recognize that any number offan performance categories (e.g., up to “CATEGORY 10” in row 410 j inthe illustrated embodiment, and more or fewer in unillustratedembodiments) may be similarly defined and associated with similar fancontrol information in order to define a plurality of different fanperformance categories with associated fan control information (e.g.,PWM control signals) that is configured to drive different types,models, or generations of fan devices that fall in the different definedcategories of fan performance to produce predefined and desiredairflows, levels of cooling, cooling capabilities, and/or other fancharacteristic known in the art.

In another example, a first category of fan performance (e.g., “CATEGORY1”) may be defined in row 410 a of the second predefined fan controllookup table 402 (i.e., in the fan performance category column 404), andassociated with fan performance characteristics (i.e., in theperformance characteristics column 406) such as estimated volumetricairflow levels (e.g., the Cubic Feet per Minute (CFM) cooling levelsdiscussed below, although other volumetric airflow levels will fallwithin the scope of the present disclosure) that are desired to beproduced by fan devices that fall in the defined first category of fanperformance, along with associated control information (i.e., in thecontrol information column 408) for providing that estimated volumetricairflow levels. Similarly, second category of fan performance (e.g.,“CATEGORY 2”) may be defined in row 410 b of the second predefined fancontrol lookup table 402 (i.e., in the fan performance category column404), and associated with fan performance characteristics (i.e., in theperformance characteristics column 406) such as estimated volumetricairflow levels that are desired to be produced by fan devices that fallin the defined second category of fan performance, along with associatedcontrol information (i.e., in the control information column 408) forproviding that estimated volumetric airflow levels. One of skill in theart in possession of the present disclosure will recognize that anynumber of fan performance categories (e.g., up to “CATEGORY 10” in row410 j in the illustrated embodiment, and more or fewer in unillustratedembodiments) may be similarly defined and associated with similar fanperformance characteristics in order to define a plurality of differentfan performance categories with associated fan performancecharacteristics (e.g., estimated volumetric airflow levels) that aredesired to be produced from different types, models, or generations offan devices that fall in the different defined categories of fanperformance. As discussed below, fan performance characteristics (e.g.,volumetric airflow levels) may be used in the fan characteristic andcontrol system 300 to determine how to control fan devices in the fansystem, or fan control information (e.g., an control information offsetfrom a baseline) may be used to control fan devices in the fan system.

While specific examples of fan control information and fan performanceinformation have been provided above, one of skill in the art inpossession of the present disclosure will recognize that other types ofcontrol information (e.g., different types of control signals) andperformance information (e.g., fan failure thresholds, power consumptionlevels, acoustic performance, etc.) may be associated with the definedfan performance categories while remaining within the scope of thepresent disclosure. Furthermore, one of skill in the art in possessionof the present disclosure will recognize that instead of definingrespective discrete fan performance categories with respective discretefan performance characteristics and respective discrete fan controlinformation, continuous curves that associate fan performance categorieswith fan performance characteristics and fan control information may bedefined by the fan characteristic and control system provider andutilized similarly as discussed below for the second predefined fancontrol lookup table 402. One of skill in the art in possession of thepresent disclosure will recognize that such continuous curves may allowfor more granularity in the characterization and control of fansaccording to the teachings of the present disclosure.

Referring now to FIG. 5, an embodiment of a fan device 500 isillustrated. While the term “fan device” is utilized throughout thepresent disclosure, the fan devices described herein may be provided byany of a variety of air moving devices such as blowers, air jets, and/orany other air moving device known in the art. As such, the fan devicesdescribed herein may be replaced by or otherwise include any of avariety of air moving devices known in the art. The fan device 500includes a fan device chassis 502 that houses the components of the fandevice 500 that may include fan blades, fan motors, fan controllers,and/or any of the fan components known in the art. A fan connector 504is located on the surface of the fan chassis 502 and includes aplurality of pins 504 a and may connect to a fan connector (e.g., theconnectors 310 a discussed above with reference to FIG. 3) to couple thefan device 500 to the fan characterization and control system 200/300discussed above. In an embodiment, at least one of the pins 504 a may beconfigured to identify, when coupled to the fan characterization andcontrol system 200/300, one of the predefined fan performance categoriesin one of the second predefined fan control lookup tables discussedabove. For example, the fan device 500 may include resistor(s) coupledto one or more of the pins 504 a that may provide a resistor value, whencoupled to the fan characterization and control system 200/300, that isassociated with one of the fan performance categories in the secondpredefined fan control lookup table 402. In another example, the fandevice 500 may be configured to provide a predefined voltage, throughone or more of the pins 504 a when coupled to the fan characterizationand control system 200/300, that is associated with one of the fanperformance categories in the second predefined fan control lookup table402.

While a few specific examples of subsystems for identifying to the fancharacterization and control system 200/300 which of the fan performancecategories in the second predefined fan control lookup table 402 thatthe fan device 500 falls into, one of skill in the art in possession ofthe present disclosure will recognize that any of a variety oftechniques may be utilized to provide an identification to the fancharacterization and control system 200/300 that has been associatedwith a fan performance category while remaining within the scope of thepresent disclosure. Furthermore, as discussed below, one of skill in theart in possession of the present disclosure will recognize thatpredefined fan control lookup tables may be created as discussed abovefor any unknown fan devices by defining different fan performancecategories that provide a plurality of different predefined fanperformance characteristics. Fan devices may then be designed andmanufactured that provide any of a variety of fan performancecharacteristics, and device system provider that incorporates the fandevices into their system may determine which fan performance category aparticular fan device falls into (e.g., based on the fan devicesin-system performance) and configure that fan device to identify itselfto the fan characterization and control system 200/300 as falling withinthat particular fan performance category. As such, the second predefinedfan control lookup tables may be created for existing fan devices aswell as future fan devices, and fan device providers simply mustdetermine how their fan devices perform, and configure those fan devicesto identify themselves as falling within any of the predefined fanperformance categories that include that level of performance.

Referring now to FIG. 6, an embodiment of a method 600 for fancharacterization and control is illustrated. As discussed below, the fancharacterization and control systems and methods of the presentdisclosure enable forward compatibility of computing cooling systems(and other cooling systems) with future (e.g., yet to be designed and/ormanufactured) fan devices through the combined use of fan device powercharacterizations, fan device failure threshold characterizations, andpredefined fan performance category determinations, which alleviates theneed to update firmware on the system while optimizing the operation offan devices that may be added to the system. As such, new fan devicesmay be added to the system while compensating for the possible changesin cooling capabilities, as well as enabling adjustment for ambienttemperature limits, power capping temperature thresholds, and open loopfan speeds so that the system may take advantage of higher performancefan devices and/or protect the system from issues resulting from the useof lower performance fan devices, all without the need to updatefirmware on the system when the new fan devices are added.

The method 600 begins at block 602 where a controller system detects fandevices. With reference to FIGS. 2, 3, and 5, in an embodiment, fandevices such as, for example, conventional fan devices and/or the fandevices 500 discussed above with reference to FIG. 5, may be coupled tothe fan characterization and control system 200/300 by engagingconnectors in the fan characterization and control system 200/300 (e.g.,the connectors 310 a discussed above with reference to FIG. 3) with fanconnectors on those fan devices (e.g., the fan connectors 504 discussedabove with reference to FIG. 5). As such, at block 602, a plurality offan devices (e.g., the fan devices 216 a-f discussed above withreference to FIG. 2) may be coupled to the fan characterization andcontrol system 200/300. In response, the system control engine 304 maycommunicate through each of the connectors 310 a coupled to the fansystem 310 and detect the coupling of those fan devices to the fancharacterization and control system 200/300.

The method 600 then proceeds to decision block 604 where it isdetermined whether any of the fan device detected at block 602 areincluded in a first predefined fan control lookup table. In anembodiment, the system control engine 304 may communicate with each ofthe fan devices detected at block 602 to identify each of those fandevices (e.g., via the identification information that may be providedby the fan devices as discussed above), and then reference the fanperformance database 312 to determine whether any of those fan devicesare included in the first predefined fan control lookup table. Asdiscussed above, the first predefined fan control lookup table mayinclude fan performance characteristics and fan control information forknown fan devices that is provided from particular fan vendors of thosefan devices, and that may be used in optimizing the operation of thosefan devices.

If, at decision block 604, it is determined that fan device(s) areincluded in the first predefined fan control lookup table, the method600 proceeds to block 606 where the controller system uses fan controlinformation from the first predefined fan control lookup table tooperate the fan device(s) included in the first predefined fan controllookup table. As discussed above, for any fan device included in thefirst predefined fan control lookup table, the system control engine 304may determine cooling needs for the system and/or components in thesystem, and then retrieve fan control information from the firstpredefined fan control lookup table that will operate those fan devicesat a level that will provide the needed cooling. For example, the systemcontrol engine 304 may determine that the processing component 214 aneeds a first level of cooling (e.g., a CFM cooling level) and that thefan device 216 a is identified in the first predefined fan controllookup table. The system control engine 304 may then retrieve a PWMcontrol signal from the first predefined fan control lookup table thatis associated with the CFM cooling level that was determined for theprocessing component 214 a, and use the PWM control signal to operatethe fan device 216 a to provide the CFM cooling level. Furthermore, thesystem control engine 304 may also adjust the level of operation of theprocessing component 214 a, the operation of the power component 214 e,and/or the operation of the fan device 216 a in order to ensure thepower consumed by the fan device 216 a (which may be included in thefirst predefined fan control lookup table) does not cause a system powerthreshold to be exceeded, fan failure thresholds for the fan device 216a (which may be included in the first predefined fan control lookuptable) are not exceeded, and/or to operate the fan device 216 aaccording to any other desired system property. One of skill in the artin possession of the present disclosure will recognize that the systemcontrol engine 304 may take into account the operation of any or all ofthe other components and/or the other fan devices in a similar mannerwhen operating the fan device(s) using fan control information from thefirst predefined fan control lookup table. The method 600 may thenreturn back to block 602 where the controller system detects fan devicesas discussed above.

If, at decision block 604, it is determined that fan device(s) are notincluded in the first predefined fan control lookup table, the method600 proceeds to block 608 where the controller system determines fanfailure thresholds. As discussed above, fan devices may be provided inthe fan characteristic and control system 200/300 that are notidentified in the first predetermined fan control lookup tables, whichmay be a result of a variety of reasons including that the fan devicevendor has not provided such information to the fan characteristic andcontrol system provider, that a user of the fan characteristic andcontrol system 200/300 has not performed a firmware update that wouldprovide such information in the first predetermined fan control lookuptables, and/or due to a variety of other reasons known in the art.However, in some embodiments, the fan characteristic and control system200/300 may not include the first predefined fan control lookup table,and rather may operate all fan devices added to the fan characteristicand control system 200/300 using the second predefined fan controllookup table and techniques discussed below. In some embodiments, thesystem control engine 304 may determine that fan devices are notincluded in the first predefined fan control lookup table in response tothose fan devices identifying a fan performance category through one ormore of the pins on their respective fan connectors, as discussed above.

In response to detecting fan device(s) that are not identified in thefirst predefined fan control lookup table (or if no first predefined fancontrol lookup table is provided), the controller system operates toperform an in-system characterization of fan failure thresholds forthose fan devices. In an embodiment, at block 608, the system controlengine 304 provides PWM control signals to each of the fan devices inorder to operate those fan devices at one or more fan speeds. At each ofthose fan speeds, the system control engine 304 may retrieve fanperformance characteristic information for those fan devices and storethat fan performance characteristic information. For example, at eachfan speed, the system control engine 304 may log fan frequency such as,for example, rotation-per-minute (RPM) data for each of the fan devices,and store that RPM data in association with the PWM control signals inthe fan performance database 312. In an embodiment, the system controlengine 304 may then determine whether the fan performance characteristicinformation generated by the fan devices falls within one or morethresholds. For example, the system control engine 304 may determine anaverage fan frequency such as, for example, an average RPM for the fandevices when operated as discussed above, and a standard deviation fromthat average RPM for fan devices that are of the same type form factoror that include other common fan characteristic known in the art. Thesystem control engine 304 may then determine whether that standarddeviation from the average RPM is within a threshold level. For example,if the standard deviation from the average RPM is not within a thresholdlevel (e.g., within 200 RPM of the average RPM, although other standarddeviations will fall within the scope of the present disclosure), thatmay be indicative of an issue with one or more of the fan devices and,as a result, the system control engine 304 may log a fan fault and/orprovide a fan fault message to the user of the system.

Referring now to FIG. 7, if the fan performance characteristicinformation does not exceed any thresholds (e.g., the threshold standarddeviation for the average RPM of like-type-fan devices), at block 608the system control engine 304 may then determine fan failure thresholdsusing the fan performance characteristic information generated by thefan devices. FIG. 7 illustrates a fan performance graph 700 of fancontrol information (e.g., PWM control signals) versus fan performancecharacteristic information (e.g., fan RPM) that may be generated atblock 608. The fan performance graph 700 includes an average RPM oflike-type-fan devices line 702 that may have been generated by theoperations of the system control engine 304 discussed above. In anembodiment, at block 608 the system control engine 304 may then utilizeone or more predefined failure threshold offsets that it applies to thefan performance characteristic information generated by the fan devicesin order to generate one or more fan failure thresholds. The fanperformance graph 700 includes a first fan failure threshold line 704that may be provided by applying a first percentage offset to the fanperformance characteristic information generated by the fan devices thatwas used to provide the average RPM of like-type-fan devices line 702,and a second fan failure threshold line 706 that may be provided byapplying a second percentage offset to the fan performancecharacteristic information generated by the fan devices that was used toprovide the average RPM of like-type-fan devices line 702. In anembodiment, the first fan failure threshold line 704 may providenon-critical fan failure thresholds for the fan devices that generatedthe fan performance characteristic information, while the second fanfailure threshold line 706 may provide critical fan failure thresholdsfor the fan devices that generated the fan performance characteristicinformation.

Each of the fan devices may then be assigned fan failure thresholdsusing information generated as discussed above. For example,like-type-fan devices that produced fan performance characteristics thatwere used to provide the fan performance graph 700 may be associatedwith the fan failure thresholds identified by the first fan failurethreshold line 704 and the second fan failure threshold line 706.Similarly, other fan performance graphs may be generated to assign fanfailure thresholds to other fan devices in the fan characteristic andcontrol system 200/300 as well. In some embodiments, such fan failurethresholds may be associated with fans devices in the fan performancedatabase 400. For example, a group of like-type-fan devices may identifythemselves as CATEGORY 2 fan devices as discussed above, and fan failurethresholds for those fan devices may be stored in the performancecharacteristic column 406 of row 410 b of the second predefined fancontrol lookup table 402. While a specific example of the determinationof fan failure thresholds has been illustrated and described, one ofskill in the art in possession of the present disclosure will recognizethat a variety of other techniques may be used to provide similar fanfailure thresholds while remaining within the scope of the presentdisclosure. Furthermore, while an example of like-type-fan devices havebeen discussed for the determination of fan failure thresholds due tosuch like-type-fan devices typically operating within some similarrange, fan failure thresholds may be determined for mixed-type-fandevices if larger offsets for fan failure thresholds and reduced abilityto detect fan failures are acceptable.

The method 600 then proceeds to block 610 where the controller systemdetermines fan power utilization. For fan device(s) that are notidentified in the first predefined fan control lookup table (or if nofirst predefined fan control lookup table is provided), at block 610 thecontroller system operates to perform an in-system characterization offan power consumption for those fan devices. In an embodiment, at block610, the system control engine 304 provides PWM control signals to eachof the fan devices in order to operate those fan devices at one or morefan speeds. At each of those fan speeds, the system control engine 304may retrieve fan power consumption information for those fan devices andstore that fan power consumption information in the fan performancedatabase 312. In an embodiment, at each fan speed, the system controlengine 304 may log power consumption data for each of the fan devices,and store that power consumption data in association with the PWMcontrol signals in the fan performance database 312. Each of the fandevices may then be associated with their power consumption informationin the fan performance database 312.

The method 600 then proceeds to block 612 where the controller systemdetermines fan performance categories for each of the fan devices. Asdiscussed above, each of the fan devices (e.g., the fan device 500discussed above with reference to FIG. 5) may be configured to identifyto the system control engine 304 a fan performance category within whichit falls (e.g., via the one or more pins 504 a as discussed above). Assuch, the system control engine 304 may receive those identificationsfrom each fan device at block 612, and associate each of those fandevices with one of the fan performance categories included in the fanperformance database 312. Thus, following at least block 612, the systemcontrol engine 304 may have associated each of the fan devices coupledto the system with a fan performance category that is further associatedwith the fan performance characteristics and fan control informationdiscussed above.

The method 600 then proceeds to block 614 where the controller systemaccesses the fan performance database and uses fan performanceinformation in each fan performance category to operate the fan devicesand/or system components. In an embodiment, once the each of the fandevices has been associated with a fan performance category in one ofthe second predefined fan control lookup tables in the fan performancedatabase 312/400, fan failure thresholds have been generated andassociated with the fan devices (e.g., in one of the second predefinedfan control lookup tables in the fan performance database 312/400), andpower consumption information has been associated with each of the fandevices (e.g., in the fan performance database 312/400), the systemcontrol engine 304 may operate the system components 306, the powersystem 308, and/or the fan system 310 using that information to provideany desired operation of the system.

For example, the system control engine 304 may consider operatinginstructions, power thresholds, and cooling needs for the system and/orcomponents in the system, and then retrieve information from the secondpredefined fan control lookup table that is used to operate the systemcomponents 306, the power system 308, and the fan devices in the fansystem 310 at one or more levels that will satisfy those operatinginstructions, power thresholds, and cooling needs. For example, thesystem control engine 304 may receive operating instructions for thesystem components that will cause the system components 306 to require afirst level of cooling, determine fan devices that are available toprovide such cooling, retrieve information from the second predefinedfan control lookup tables that indicates how those fan device may beoperated to provide such cooling while also not exceeding powerthresholds for the power system or fan failure thresholds determined foreach of the fan devices, and use that information to adjust theoperation of any or all of the system components 306, the power system308, and the fan system 310 in order to provide a desired operation ofthe system. As such, the system control engine 304 may be able to detectfan devices from different fan vendors, as well as different generationfans from the same fan vendors, that operate at substantially differentspeeds in response to similar control signals, and thus may operate eachof those fan devices to provide desired cooling levels. One of skill inthe art in possession of the present disclosure will recognize that thesystem control engine 304 may take into account the operation of fandevices operated according to the first predefined fan control lookuptable as well at block 614. The method 600 may then return back to block602 where the controller system detects fan devices as discussed above.

As such, systems and methods have been described that allow for thedetermination of fan performance characteristics, which are needed toconsider fan-specific dependencies that are utilized in providing adesired operation of a computing system, without the need to performfirmware updates that explicitly defined those fan performancecharacteristics for each particular fan device that may be added to thecomputing system, and without the expense associated with “smart” fandevices that are configured to report such fan performancecharacteristics to the computing system. One of skill in the art inpossession of the present disclosure will recognize that the fanperformance characteristics provided by the systems and methods of thepresent disclosure allow for proper accounting of power in order toprovide power management for the system, provide appropriate definitionsof fan failure thresholds, and enable alignment of airflow delivery foropen loop (e.g., fan curve) settings and ambient temperature supportlimits

In specific embodiments, the systems and methods described above utilizepredefined PWM control signal or estimated CFM cooling level lookuptables or curves with discrete hardware-detected fan performancecategories of fan devices, which allows fan devices to be developed andassociated with fan performance categories that match their performancecharacteristics. Using estimated CFM cooling levels as opposed to PWMcontrol signals may provide benefits in scaling ambient temperaturerestrictions and power capping temperature thresholds in a moreintuitive manner while also allowing CFM cooling level reportingcapabilities (e.g., systems may then predict and define in a thermaltable the relationship between the CFM cooling level and the ambientsupport temperatures). However, in other embodiments, an analogmeasurement of resistance or voltage from the one or more pins 504 a ona fan device may be correlated to a PWM control signal or CFM coolinglevel parameter. For example, a baseline PWM control signal or CFMcooling level response curve may be defined as discussed above, and thePWM control signal parameter or CFM cooling level parameter may then beused to scale that baseline response curve (e.g., if a fan device has20% higher airflow capabilities than baseline fan devices, a scalingfactors of 0.8 could be defined that would convert a baseline fan speedto 80% of the PWM control signal for that fan device, and open loop fanrequests may then be scaled down by the 0.8 factor to reduce idle fanspeeds based on the additional cooling available from the fan device,while the remaining 20% cooling capacity could be used to scale up theambient temperature and power cap temperature limits).

Furthermore, combinations of the above parameters may be utilized suchas, for example, by providing discrete CFM cooling levels and PWMcontrol signal values using the discrete hardware pin detectidentification from the fan device that is taught above to index apredefined CFM cooling level/PWM control signal paired value. Forexample, one of those parameters could be represented through animpedance of a pin within a Direct Current (DC) domain and the other ofthose parameters through an impedance of a pin within an AlternatingCurrent (AC) domain. In another example, one of those parameters couldbe represented through a pin-provided current biased in a firstdirection and the other of those parameters represented through apin-provided current biased in a second direction that is opposite thefirst direction.

Although illustrative embodiments have been shown and described, a widerange of modification, change and substitution is contemplated in theforegoing disclosure and in some instances, some features of theembodiments may be employed without a corresponding use of otherfeatures. Accordingly, it is appropriate that the appended claims beconstrued broadly and in a manner consistent with the scope of theembodiments disclosed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A fan control system, comprising: a chassis; aplurality of components located in the chassis; a fan system located inthe chassis; a controller system located in the chassis and coupled tothe plurality of components and the fan system, wherein the controllersystem is configured to: detect a plurality of fan devices in the fansystem that are connected to the controller system via respective fanconnectors; receive, via a respective first fan connector, first fanperformance characteristics reported by a first fan device included inthe plurality of fan devices; receive, via a respective second fanconnector, second fan performance characteristics that are differentthan the first fan performance characteristics and that are reported bya second fan device included in the plurality of fan devices; identifycooling needs for the plurality of components; and operate the first fandevice and the second fan device based on the first fan performancecharacteristics, the second fan performance characteristics, and thecooling needs of the components.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein thecontroller system is configured to: receive, via the respective firstfan connector, first fan power utilization reported by the first fandevice included in the plurality of fan devices; receive, via therespective second fan connector, second fan power utilization reportedby the second fan device included in the plurality of fan devices;operate the first fan device based on the first fan power utilization;and operate the second fan device based on the second fan powerutilization.
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein the operating the firstfan device based on the first fan power utilization and the operatingthe second fan device based on the second fan power utilization includesensuring that a system power threshold is not exceeded.
 4. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the controller system is configured to: perform a firstfan device in-system characterization of the first fan device todetermine a first fan power utilization; perform a second fan devicein-system characterization of the second fan device to determine asecond fan power utilization; operate the first fan device using thefirst fan power utilization; and operate the second fan device using thesecond fan power utilization.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein thefirst fan performance characteristics include first airflow performancecharacteristics, and wherein the second fan performance characteristicsinclude second airflow performance characteristics.
 6. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the controller system is configured to: perform a firstfan device in-system characterization of the first fan device todetermine first control signals that operate the first fan device at aplurality of first fan speeds; perform a second fan device in-systemcharacterization of the second fan device to determine second controlsignals that operate second first device at a plurality of second fanspeeds; operate the first fan device using at least one of the firstcontrol signals; and operate the second fan device using at least one ofthe second control signals.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the firstfan device and the second fan device are configured to provide differentfan performance characteristics in response to the same control signal.8. An Information Handling System (IHS), comprising: a non-transitorymemory system; and a processing system that is coupled to thenon-transitory memory system and that is configured to executeinstructions from the non-transitory memory system to provide a fansystem control engine that is configured to: detect a plurality of fandevices that are connected to the fan system control engine viarespective fan connectors; receive, via a respective first fanconnector, first fan performance characteristics reported by a first fandevice included in the plurality of fan devices; receive, via arespective second fan connector, second fan performance characteristicsthat are different than the first fan performance characteristics andthat are reported by a second fan device included in the plurality offan devices; identify cooling needs for the IHS; and operate the firstfan device and the second fan device based on the first fan performancecharacteristics, the second fan performance characteristics, and thecooling needs of the IHS.
 9. The IHS of claim 8, wherein the fan controlengine is configured to: receive, via the respective first fanconnector, first fan power utilization reported by the first fan deviceincluded in the plurality of fan devices; receive, via the respectivesecond fan connector, second fan power utilization reported by thesecond fan device included in the plurality of fan devices; operate thefirst fan device based on the first fan power utilization; and operatethe second fan device based on the second fan power utilization.
 10. TheIHS of claim 9, wherein the operating the first fan device based on thefirst fan power utilization and the operating the second fan devicebased on the second fan power utilization includes ensuring that asystem power threshold is not exceeded.
 11. The IHS of claim 8, whereinthe fan control engine is configured to: perform a first fan devicein-system characterization of the first fan device to determine a firstfan power utilization; perform a second fan device in-systemcharacterization of the second fan device to determine a second fanpower utilization; operate the first fan device using the first fanpower utilization; and operate the second fan device using the secondfan power utilization.
 12. The IHS of claim 8, wherein the first fanperformance characteristics include first airflow performancecharacteristics, and wherein the second fan performance characteristicsinclude second airflow performance characteristics.
 13. The IHS of claim8, wherein the fan control engine is configured to: perform a first fandevice in-system characterization of the first fan device to determinefirst control signals that operate the first fan device at a pluralityof first fan speeds; perform a second fan device in-systemcharacterization of the second fan device to determine second controlsignals that operate second first device at a plurality of second fanspeeds; operate the first fan device using at least one of the firstcontrol signals; and operate the second fan device using at least one ofthe second control signals.
 14. A method for fan control, comprising:detecting, by a controller, a plurality of fan devices that are includedin a system and connected to the controller via respective fanconnectors; receiving, by the controller via a respective first fanconnector, first fan performance characteristics reported by a first fandevice included in the plurality of fan devices; receiving, by thecontroller via a respective second fan connector, second fan performancecharacteristics that are different than the first fan performancecharacteristics and that are reported by a second fan device included inthe plurality of fan devices; identifying, by the controller, coolingneeds for the system; and operating, by the controller, the first fandevice and the second fan device based on the first fan performancecharacteristics, the second fan performance characteristics, and thecooling needs of the IHS.
 15. The method of claim 14, furthercomprising: receiving, by the controller via the respective first fanconnector, first fan power utilization reported by the first fan deviceincluded in the plurality of fan devices; receiving, by the controllervia the respective second fan connector, second fan power utilizationreported by the second fan device included in the plurality of fandevices; operating, by the controller, the first fan device based on thefirst fan power utilization; and operating, by the controller, thesecond fan device based on the second fan power utilization.
 16. Themethod of claim 15, wherein the operating the first fan device based onthe first fan power utilization and the operating the second fan devicebased on the second fan power utilization includes ensuring that asystem power threshold is not exceeded.
 17. The method of claim 14,further comprising: performing, by the controller, a first fan devicein-system characterization of the first fan device to determine a firstfan power utilization; performing, by the controller, a second fandevice in-system characterization of the second fan device to determinea second fan power utilization; operating, by the controller, the firstfan device using the first fan power utilization; and operating, by thecontroller, the second fan device using the second fan powerutilization.
 18. The method of claim 14, wherein the first fanperformance characteristics include first airflow performancecharacteristics, and wherein the second fan performance characteristicsinclude second airflow performance characteristics.
 19. The method ofclaim 14, further comprising: performing, by the controller, a first fandevice in-system characterization of the first fan device to determinefirst control signals that operate the first fan device at a pluralityof first fan speeds; performing, by the controller, a second fan devicein-system characterization of the second fan device to determine secondcontrol signals that operate second first device at a plurality ofsecond fan speeds; operating, by the controller, the first fan deviceusing at least one of the first control signals; and operating, by thecontroller, the second fan device using at least one of the secondcontrol signals.
 20. The method of claim 14, wherein the first fandevice and the second fan device are configured to provide different fanperformance characteristics in response to the same control signal.